'Eddie' Burtt's loved ones gather in Epping to say goodbye

Peter Burtt leads two steers as they pull a sled carrying the casket of his father, Edward “Eddie” Burtt, through a snow-covered field to the family's cemetery on the farm. (JASON SCHREIBER/Union Leader Correspondent)

A picture of Burtt from his days in the military, a sign for his business, Epping Tractor Services, and his trademark hat on top of a casket built by his son Walter. (JASON SCHREIBER/Union Leader Correspondent)

Family and friends gathered at the Burtt family farm in Epping on Friday for the funeral of Edward "Eddie" Burtt, who died Jan. 22 after a period of failing health.

The service for the 85-year-old retired logger, heavy equipment operator, and former Marine was held in the kitchen of the old farmhouse where his son Dana now resides. Burtt's son Walter lives in Australia and was unable to attend the funeral, but he built his father's casket and shipped it by freight from Australia to New Hampshire.

After the service, the casket was carried outside and loaded onto a sled, where two steers led by another son, Peter, pulled him through the field to his final resting place in the family cemetery on the farm.